Chili response to soil amended with rice husk biochar and fertiuzers

Abstract

This study was carried out at the School of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Sandakan Campus from September 2012 to November 2012 to evaluate the effects of biochar rates (0, 5, 10 and 20 t ha-1 ) and types of fertilizer (inorganic and organic) on growth of chilli Kulai (Capsicum annuum L.) and selected soil chemical properties (pH, organic carbon, organic matter and available P). There were eight treatments in this study. The treatments were arranged as a factorial using complete randomized design (CRD) with five replications. Data collected were analyzed using two-way ANOVA at 5% significant level and Tukey's test was performed for mean separation. Significant interactions occurred between biochar rates and fertilizer types on plant height, leaf and root dry weight and total plant biomass. Main effect of fertilizer types was found to be significant on stem dry weight and soil pH. Both factors showed significant differences for available phosphorus whereas none of the factors were found to influence soil organic carbon and soil organic matter significantly. Better plant growth was observed for the 10 t ha-1 biochar and NPK fertilizer combination with the highest mean plant height of 52.3 cm (161.5% higher than chicken manuretreated plants), higher leaf dry weight (9.78 g, 84.53% more than chicken manure treatment), stem dry weight (8.57 g, 64.81% higher than chicken manure amendment), root dry weight (6.79 g, 32.36% more than chicken manure treatment) and total plant biomass (25.13 g, 59.89% more than chicken manure treatment). Soil chemical properties improved for chicken manure treatment. The soil pH, organic carbon, organic matter and available P all showed increments. Further research on the application rate of NPK fertilizer in combination with biochar need to be done to determine the optimum rate required with the consideration of incorporating chicken manure as a supplement for soil health improvement.